Research
Hormonal
Hyperinsulinemia and elevated Insulin-like Growth Factor-I (IGF-I) levels, driven by obesity and insulin resistance, promote cancer cell growth, proliferation, and metastasis.
Managing insulin sensitivity through diet and exercise is crucial for cancer prevention, as high insulin and IGF-I levels directly fuel tumor growth and spread.
StrongSupportsHIGH confidence
Elevated insulin serum levels favour faster growth and increased aggressiveness of colorectal, pancreatic, liver, postmenopausal breast, and endometrial cancers... IGF-I also exerts proangiogenic effects and induces tumour-related lymphangiogenesis... IGF-I prevents apoptosis and induces metastatic tumour spread
Why this rating
Extensive mechanistic and epidemiological evidence provided.
Source
Obesity as a Major Risk Factor for Cancer
Giovanni De Pergola et al. · Journal of Obesity · 2013
DOI 10.1155/2013/291546
narrative_reviewCited 951×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Obesity is a major risk factor for cancer, accounting for approximately 20% of all malignancies, with the strongest evidence linking it to endometrial, esophageal adenocarcinoma, colorectal, postmenopausal breast, prostate, and renal cancers.Strong
- Weight loss, particularly through bariatric surgery or intentional lifestyle changes, significantly reduces the incidence of obesity-related cancers.Good
- Adipokines, specifically leptin and adiponectin, play opposing roles in cancer development, with leptin promoting tumor growth and adiponectin offering protection.Good
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